Microwave Cooking in the Summer is Very Budget Friendly

Microwave is a great way not only to beat the heat during the summer but to keep the cost of cooling your home down as well. With energy costs at an all time high, particularly if you have a gas stove and/or oven, people are desperately searching for ways to cut back on the cost. Times like this are when people remember their old standby, the microwave.

Many people, unfortunately, think of their microwave oven, only when it comes time to pop popcorn or reheat leftovers. When you think about it, that makes a relatively expensive popcorn popper in addition to a very underutilized appliance. But seriously let's look at the real dollar sign value of using a microwave for summertime cooking. First of all, using the stove or the oven introduces heat to the room raising the temperature of the room and causing the air conditioner to run more often in order to maintain the very same room temperature. Running the air conditioner longer and more often uses more electricity and costs more money. The other immediate benefit is that you typically run the microwave for a shorter period of time than a stovetop or an oven, which uses less energy and requires less preheating time.

One important thing to remember when planning for microwave cooking is to arm yourself with several recipes. A good microwave recipe will make the difference in whether you love or hate using your microwave for cooking. You will also want to keep in mind that food cooked in the microwave will not look the same as food cooked on the grill, stove, or in the oven. Microwave cooking is a different method of cooking than each of these and the food will definitely look different. Keep that in mind and try it out before you make a decision. You may even find that you like the actual flavor of the food that has been cooked in the microwave oven better than the foods you cook in your regular oven. I am sure you will appreciate the shorter cooking time for many items.

My kids also like the fact that they can not only assist me in the making of microwave meals, but they also get to count down the minutes with the timer on the microwave. I like the fact that I don't have to hear how much longer??every two minutes and I can generally get a little pre-dinner cleaning done while waiting on the microwave to signal dinner time.

Microwaves are so much more than Food Heaters. The microwave oven has become a standard in most households and more and more people are searching for ways to conserve energy and lower their summertime cooling costs.

The microwave for many homes is nothing more than a glorified re-heater. Many families only use their microwave oven for such task as heating up left over dinners or frozen pizza pockets. It really is such a waste of time and money not to realize the full potential of your microwave. Only choose the recipes that look appealing to you and your family. Not everyone likes the same things and microwave cooking will take a little getting accustomed to.

Microwave cooking is a much safer way to get your children involved in your cooking also. You don't have to worry about exposed elements or burns as you would with electric stove top cooking or open fire as you would with a barbecue grill or gas stove. Microwave cooking is definitely much safer provided you use common sense and teach your children the same thing. Don't just tell them not to leave the fork or spoon in the dish or not to use foil, explain to them why we don't do these things and make sure you supervise them always.

A microwave is also a handy cooking tool when there are big events in your home and all other cooking methods are being utilized. As I've said before people often forget the value of the microwave for cooking and use it simply to heat foods that have already been cooked. However, if you use your microwave oven properly and have a good microwave recipe to start out with, you may find yourself amazed at not only how quickly your meals are done but how little the actual cooking of the meals affect the environment when compared to a traditional oven.

All you really need to be well on your way to microwave cooking stardom in your family is a few good recipes and an open mind for trying new things. Good luck and have fun, I know that anything that saves me time in the kitchen frees up more of my time for fun and you can't go wrong there.

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